𐩪𐩨𐩱
Sabaean
Afro-Asiatic (Semitic, South, Old South Arabian) · historical / hidden variety
Sabaean is the most attested Old South Arabian language, used in tens of thousands of inscriptions across ancient Yemen — especially around the Marib dam, the engineering wonder that supported the Sabaean kingdom from c. 1000 BCE to its 6th-century collapse. The Musnad script (also called Old South Arabian) is the ancestor of Ge'ez script via early Aksumite contacts across the Red Sea, transmitting the alphabetic tradition into Ethiopia where it survives in Ethiopic Christian use today.
Where it is spoken
31 core words in Sabaean
Water
𐩣𐩥
/maw/
Fire
𐩱𐩪
/ʔas/
Sun
𐩦𐩣𐩪
/ʃams/
Moon
𐩥𐩧𐩭
/warχ/
Star
𐩫𐩨𐩫𐩨
/kabkab/
Mother
𐩱𐩣
/ʔumm/
Father
𐩱𐩨
/ʔab/
I
𐩱𐩬
/ʔana/
You
𐩱𐩬𐩩
/ʔanta/
Name
𐩪𐩣
/sim/
Eye
𐩲𐩺𐩬
/ʕajn/
Hand
𐩺𐩵
/jad/
Heart
𐩡𐩨
/lubb/
Love
𐩥𐩵𐩵
/wadda/
Tree
𐩲𐩳
/ʕaːð/
House
𐩨𐩺𐩩
/bajt/
Dog
𐩫𐩡𐩨
/kalb/
Cat
—
/—/
Eat
𐩱𐩫𐩡
/ʔakal/
Drink
𐩪𐩩𐩺
/ʃataja/
One
𐩱𐩢𐩵
/ʔaħad/
Two
𐩻𐩬𐩺
/θanay/
Hello
𐩪𐩡𐩣
/salaːm/
Thank you
𐩢𐩣𐩵
/ħamad/
Good
𐩷𐩨
/tˤajjib/
Words compared
Compared with related Afro-Asiatic (Semitic, South, Old South Arabian) languages
| Meaning | Sabaean | Ugaritic | Old Aramaic | Quranic Arabic | Punic | Arabic (MSA) | Ge'ez |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | 𐩣𐩥 /maw/ | 𐎎𐎊 /maju/ | מין /majin/ | ماء /maːʔ/ | 𐤌𐤉𐤌 /majim/ | ماء /maːʔ/ | ማይ /maːj/ |
| Fire | 𐩱𐩪 /ʔas/ | 𐎛𐎌𐎚 /ʔiʃt/ | נור /nuːr/ | نار /naːr/ | 𐤀𐤔 /ʔeʃ/ | نار /naːr/ | እሳት /ʔəsaːt/ |
| Sun | 𐩦𐩣𐩪 /ʃams/ | 𐎌𐎔𐎌 /ʃapʃ/ | שמש /ʃamʃ/ | شمس /ʃams/ | 𐤔𐤌𐤔 /ʃameʃ/ | شمس /ʃams/ | ፀሐይ /sˤaħaj/ |
| Moon | 𐩥𐩧𐩭 /warχ/ | 𐎊𐎗𐎈 /jaːriχ/ | שהר /sahr/ | قمر /qamar/ | 𐤉𐤓𐤇 /jeraħ/ | قمر /qamar/ | ወርኅ /warχ/ |
| Star | 𐩫𐩨𐩫𐩨 /kabkab/ | 𐎋𐎁𐎋𐎁 /kabkabu/ | כוכב /kawkab/ | نجم /nadʒm/ | 𐤊𐤊𐤁 /koːkab/ | نجم /nadʒm/ | ኮከብ /kokab/ |
| Mother | 𐩱𐩣 /ʔumm/ | 𐎜𐎎 /ʔumm/ | אמ /ʔem/ | أم /ʔumm/ | 𐤀𐤌 /ʔem/ | أم /ʔumm/ | እም /ʔəmm/ |
| Father | 𐩱𐩨 /ʔab/ | 𐎜𐎁 /ʔabu/ | אב /ʔab/ | أب /ʔab/ | 𐤀𐤁 /ʔav/ | أب /ʔab/ | አብ /ʔab/ |
| I | 𐩱𐩬 /ʔana/ | 𐎀𐎐𐎋 /ʔanaːku/ | אנה /ʔanaː/ | أنا /ʔanaː/ | 𐤀𐤍𐤊 /ʔanoːk/ | أنا /ʔana/ | አነ /ʔana/ |
| You | 𐩱𐩬𐩩 /ʔanta/ | 𐎀𐎚 /ʔatta/ | אנת /ʔantaː/ | أنتَ /ʔanta/ | 𐤀𐤕 /ʔatta/ | أنتَ /ʔanta/ | አንተ /ʔanta/ |
| Name | 𐩪𐩣 /sim/ | 𐎌𐎎 /ʃumu/ | שם /ʃum/ | اسم /ism/ | 𐤔𐤌 /ʃem/ | اسم /ism/ | ስም /səm/ |
| Eye | 𐩲𐩺𐩬 /ʕajn/ | 𐎓𐎐 /ʕajnu/ | עין /ʕajn/ | عين /ʕajn/ | 𐤏𐤍 /ʕajin/ | عين /ʕajn/ | ዐይን /ʕajn/ |
| Hand | 𐩺𐩵 /jad/ | 𐎊𐎄 /jadu/ | יד /jad/ | يد /jad/ | 𐤉𐤃 /jad/ | يد /jad/ | እድ /ʔəd/ |
| Heart | 𐩡𐩨 /lubb/ | 𐎍𐎁 /libbu/ | לב /leb/ | قلب /qalb/ | 𐤋𐤁 /lib/ | قلب /qalb/ | ልብ /ləbb/ |
| Love | 𐩥𐩵𐩵 /wadda/ | 𐎜𐎈𐎁 /ʔaːhab/ | רחם /raħem/ | حب /ħubb/ | 𐤀𐤇𐤁 /ʔaheb/ | حب /ħubb/ | አፍቀረ /ʔafqara/ |
| Tree | 𐩲𐩳 /ʕaːð/ | 𐎓𐎕 /ʕasˤu/ | עץ /ʕeːsˤ/ | شجرة /ʃadʒara/ | 𐤏𐤑 /ʕesˤ/ | شجرة /ʃadʒara/ | ዕፅ /ʕasˤ/ |
| House | 𐩨𐩺𐩩 /bajt/ | 𐎁𐎚 /bajtu/ | בית /beːt/ | بيت /bajt/ | 𐤁𐤕 /bajit/ | بيت /bajt/ | ቤት /beːt/ |
| Dog | 𐩫𐩡𐩨 /kalb/ | 𐎋𐎍𐎁 /kalbu/ | כלב /kalb/ | كلب /kalb/ | 𐤊𐤋𐤁 /kalb/ | كلب /kalb/ | ከልብ /kalb/ |
| Cat | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | قط /qitˤtˤ/ | — /—/ | قطة /qitˤtˤa/ | ድሙ /dəmmu/ |
| Eat | 𐩱𐩫𐩡 /ʔakal/ | 𐎍𐎈𐎎 /laħam/ | אכל /ʔakal/ | أكل /ʔakala/ | 𐤀𐤊𐤋 /ʔakal/ | أكل /ʔakala/ | በልዐ /balʕa/ |
| Drink | 𐩪𐩩𐩺 /ʃataja/ | 𐎌𐎚𐎊 /ʃataju/ | שתה /ʃataː/ | شرب /ʃariba/ | 𐤔𐤕 /ʃat/ | شرب /ʃariba/ | ሰትየ /satja/ |
| One | 𐩱𐩢𐩵 /ʔaħad/ | 𐎀𐎈𐎄 /ʔaːħadu/ | חד /ħad/ | واحد /waːħid/ | 𐤀𐤇𐤃 /ʔeħad/ | واحد /waːħid/ | አሐዱ /ʔaħadu/ |
| Two | 𐩻𐩬𐩺 /θanay/ | 𐎘𐎐 /θnaː/ | תרין /treːn/ | اثنان /iθnaːn/ | 𐤔𐤍𐤌 /ʃnem/ | اثنان /iθnaːn/ | ክልኤ /kəlʔeː/ |
| Hello | 𐩪𐩡𐩣 /salaːm/ | 𐎌𐎍𐎎 /ʃalaːmu/ | שלם /ʃəlaːm/ | السلام عليكم /as.salaːmu ʕalajkum/ | 𐤔𐤋𐤌 /ʃalom/ | مرحبا /marħaba/ | ሰላም /salaːm/ |
| Thank you | 𐩢𐩣𐩵 /ħamad/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | الحمد لله /al.ħamdu lillaːh/ | — /—/ | شكرا /ʃukran/ | ምስጋና /məsɡaːnaː/ |
| Good | 𐩷𐩨 /tˤajjib/ | 𐎉𐎁 /tˤaːbu/ | טב /tˤab/ | طيب /tˤajjib/ | 𐤈𐤁 /tˤob/ | جيد /dʒajjid/ | ሠናይ /sanaːj/ |
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